Battery tray floor assembly for electric vehicles

ABSTRACT

A vehicle battery tray has a floor assembly with elongated tray sections that attach together at edge portions of adjacent tray sections of the elongated tray sections to form a floor structure that supports vehicle batteries contained in the vehicle battery tray. The elongated tray sections may have substantially consistent cross-sectional shapes that extends along a length of the tray sections. A thickness of the tray sections at a central area of the floor structure may be greater than a thickness of another one of the elongated tray sections at an outboard area of the floor structure, such as to withstand an equal or greater transverse bending moment than the outboard area of the floor structure.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit and priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) ofU.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/568,051, filed Oct. 4, 2017,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to vehicle battery supportstructures, and more particularly to tray and floor structures forholding and supporting protected batteries, such as battery packs ormodules or the like for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Electric and hybrid-electric vehicles are typically designed to locateand package battery modules on the vehicle in a manner that protects thebatteries from damage when driving in various climates and environments,and also that protects the batteries from different types of impacts. Itis also fairly common for vehicle frames to locate batteries in aportion of the frame or sub-structure of the vehicle, such as betweenthe axles and near the floor of the vehicle, which can distribute theweight of the batteries across the vehicle frame and establish a lowcenter of gravity for the vehicle.

SUMMARY

A battery tray for an electric vehicle has a floor that spans below thebatteries held in a battery containment area. The floor is provided as atray floor assembly that may be engineered or configured to reduce theweight of the overall battery tray, while also providing the desiredstructural support to the contained batteries and the desired protectiveattributes, such as impact resistance to the lower surface the batterytray. The tray floor assembly has elongated tray sections that may beextruded, such as with aluminum, or pultruded, such as with a resin andcomposite substrate, to form a cross-sectional profile that issubstantially consistent longitudinally along the length of each traysection. The elongated tray sections may be attached or otherwisearranged together in a manner so as to form a floor structure with avaried cross-sectional profile across a width of the tray, such as tohave structural mass at the desired locations of the floor structure tosupport loads of the vehicle batteries arranged over the floor of thebattery tray. Also, exterior or outboard tray sections of the floorassembly may include a wall portion that extends longitudinally alongthe exterior or outboard tray section to provide a section of aperipheral wall structure of the battery tray. The wall structuresection or sections provided by the floor assembly may further have wallthicknesses and longitudinal elongated hollow areas that are configuredto laterally protect the battery containment area, such as to preventlateral impact forces from objects hitting the vehicle fromsubstantially penetrating the battery containment area.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle batterytray has a floor assembly with elongated tray sections that attachtogether at lateral edge portions of adjacent tray sections of theelongated tray sections to form a floor structure. This floor structureis configured to support vehicle batteries contained in the vehiclebattery tray. The elongated tray sections each have a substantiallyconsistent cross-sectional shape that extends longitudinally along alength of the elongated tray sections. A thickness of one of theelongated tray sections at a central area of the floor structure isgreater than a thickness of another one of the elongated tray sectionsat an outboard area of the floor structure. The central area of thefloor structure may further be configured to withstand an equal orgreater transverse bending moment than the outboard area of the floorstructure.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a tray floorassembly for a vehicle battery tray has elongated tray sections thatattach together to form a substantially planar floor structure that isconfigured to support vehicle batteries. The elongated tray sectionseach extend longitudinally and parallel relative to each other and eachhave a transverse cross-sectional profile that is substantiallyconsistent longitudinally along its length. The cross-sectional profileof at least one of the elongated tray sections includes a thicknessbetween an upper surface and a lower surface of the floor structure thatincreases laterally across a width of the cross-sectional profile. Atleast one of the elongated tray sections may also have an upper panelportion that at least partially forms the upper surface of the floorstructure and a lower panel portion that is separated from the upperpanel portion to provide a hollow area extending longitudinally alongthe length of the respective tray section. The upper panel portion maybe supported away from the lower panel portion by intermediatestiffening members that integrally interconnect between the upper andlower panel portions, so as to laterally divide the hollow area disposedtherebetween.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a batterytray for an electric vehicle includes elongated tray sections thatextend longitudinally and together to form a floor structure of thebattery tray that has a substantially planar upper surface that isconfigured to support batteries that supply operational power to theelectric vehicle. The elongated tray sections include outer traysections on opposing lateral sides of the floor structure that each havea wall portion that partially forms a peripheral wall structure thatsurrounds a battery containment area of the vehicle battery tray. Theelongated tray sections may also include an inner tray section that isdisposed between the outer tray sections and that has a thicknessdefined between the upper surface and a lower surface of the floorstructure that is greater than a thickness of the floor structure at theouter tray sections.

Furthermore, when in an initially formed state, adjacent tray sectionsof a battery tray assembly may be integrally interconnected, such thatthese adjacent tray sections may be displaced from the initially formedstate to an assembly state for arranging the adjacent tray sections withthe respective upper surfaces in substantially planar alignment witheach other to form the floor structure of the battery tray.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes, and features of thepresent disclosure will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a battery support structure securedat a mounting location on a vehicle;

FIG. 2 is top plan view of the battery support structure shown in FIG.1, illustrating rocker rails and other portions of the vehicle in dashedlines;

FIG. 3 is an upper perspective view of a tray floor assembly of thebattery support structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the tray floor assembly shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the tray floor assembly shown inFIG. 3;

FIG. 5A is an enlarged view of an outer section of the tray floorassembly shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of a lap joint of the tray floor assemblyshown in FIG. 5A, showing an attachment interface between elongated traysections;

FIG. 6 is an exploded upper perspective view of the elongated traysections of the tray floor assembly shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an upper perspective view of an additional embodiment of abattery tray floor assembly;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the tray floor assembly shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an end elevational view of the tray floor assembly shown inFIG. 7;

FIG. 9A is an enlarged view of an outer section of the tray floorassembly shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9B is an enlarged view of a lap joint of the tray floor assemblyshown in FIG. 9A, showing an attachment interface between elongated traysections;

FIG. 10 is an exploded upper perspective view of the elongated traysections of the tray floor assembly shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an additional embodiment of abattery tray floor assembly, showing two tray sections;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an additional embodiment of abattery tray floor assembly, showing two tray sections;

FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view of an additional embodiment of abattery tray floor assembly, showing two tray sections in a formedstate;

FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view of the battery tray floor assembly ofFIG. 13A, showing the two tray sections in a use state;

FIG. 14A is a cross-sectional view of an additional embodiment of abattery tray floor assembly, showing two tray sections in a formedstate;

FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view of the battery tray floor assembly ofFIG. 14A, showing the two tray sections in a use state;

FIG. 15A is a cross-sectional view of an additional embodiment of abattery tray floor assembly, showing tray sections in a formed state;

FIG. 15B is a cross-sectional view of the battery tray floor assembly ofFIG. 15A, showing the tray sections in a use state;

FIG. 16 shows top plan views and corresponding cross-sectional views ofa battery tray floor assembly alongside a monolithic floor structure,showing trimmed sections removed;

FIG. 17 is an upper perspective view of an additional battery tray floorassembly;

FIG. 18 is a top plan view of the tray floor assembly shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is an end elevational view of the tray floor assembly shown inFIG. 17; and

FIG. 20 is an enlarged perspective view of the tray floor assembly shownin FIG. 17, showing the tray sections exploded away from each other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, a vehicle battery tray or structure 10 is provided forsupporting and protecting batteries, such as battery packs or modules orthe like, for operating a vehicle 12 (FIG. 1), such as for operating ofan electric vehicle or hybrid-electric vehicle. The battery tray 10 maybe attached or mounted at or near the lower frame or rocker rails 14 ofthe vehicle 12 (FIG. 2), so as to locate the contained batteries 16generally in a central location on the vehicle 12, which is generallyaway from probable impact locations and also in a location that mayevenly distribute the weight of the batteries 16 over the vehicle frame.Such an attachment or mounting location at the bottom area of thevehicle frame may also provide the vehicle with a relatively lowercenter of gravity. The battery tray 10 spans below the vehicle 12, suchas shown in FIG. 1, with a generally thin profile, so as to accommodatevarious vehicle body types and designs. For further usageconsiderations, it is contemplated that the battery tray 10 may beeasily disengaged or detachable from the rocker rails 14 of the vehicle12, such as for replacing or performing maintenance on the batteries 16or related electrical components.

The battery tray 10 includes a battery tray floor assembly 18 that spansbelow the batteries 16 contained in the battery tray 10, so as to atleast partially form an interior surface of a battery containment areaof the battery tray 10. Moreover, such as shown in FIG. 1, a bottomsurface 19 of the floor assembly 18 of the battery tray 10 may beexposed to generally provide an undercarriage surface of the vehiclebody that faces and is suspended away from the road or ground surface.The tray floor assembly 18 has elongated tray sections that are attachedor otherwise arranged together in a manner to form a floor structure 22of the battery tray 10, such as shown in FIG. 4. The floor structure 22formed by the tray sections provide the desired structural support tothe contained batteries 16 and the desired protective attributes, suchas impact resistance to the lower surface 19 the battery tray 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2-6, the tray floor assembly 18 of the battery tray 10provides five separate tray sections 20 a, 20 b, 20 c, 20 d, 20 e thatextend longitudinally in parallel alignment with each other and areattach together at lateral edge portions of adjacent tray sections toform the floor structure 22. These elongated tray sections 20 a, 20 b,20 c, 20 d, 20 e are formed to each have a cross-sectional profile takentransverse to the longitudinal length that is substantially consistentlongitudinally along the length of each tray section. Such a generallyconsistent profile along the length of a tray section may be formed byextrusion, such as with an aluminum alloy, or pultrusion, such as with aresin and composite substrate. For example, the tray sections may beextruded with 6xxx or 7xxx series aluminum alloy or pultruded withcarbon fiber strands and mats reinforced with a resin system. It isunderstood that a tray floor assembly may have more or fewer traysections than shown in FIGS. 3-6, such as shown in the additionalillustrated examples herein, and furthermore understood that traysections may be formed separate from each other or integrally formedtogether, as described in examples below. In addition to the differentexemplary structural configurations shown and described below, it isunderstood that other conceivable structural designs may be used toprovide the varied floor structure 22 for the desired structuralperformance characteristics.

The open front and rear ends of the tray floor assembly 18 may beenclosed with structural modules or cross members to further protect thebatteries 16 held in the containment area and provide the desiredperipheral shape of the battery tray 10. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, thevehicle battery tray 10 has front and rear tray enclosure members 27 a,27 b that extend laterally across the tray floor assembly 18 and attachat the wall portions of the outer tray sections 20 a, 20 e to togetherform a peripheral wall structure 21 that surrounds the batterycontainment area of the vehicle battery tray 10. The front and rear trayenclosure members 27 a, 27 b may engage within the hollow openings ofthe wall portions of the outer tray sections and may attach thereat viawelding, adhesive, and/or fasteners, and other conceivable means ofattachment. Moreover the front and rear tray enclosure members 27 a, 27b may be part of a module that includes a floor section that aligns withthe floor assembly 18 and is capable of supporting additional batteries,such as shown in FIG. 2.

The cross-sectional profile of one or more of the tray sections may beengineered or otherwise configured with the desired structure to supportthe loads of the vehicle batteries 16 and/or other related contents ofthe battery tray 10 at the respective tray section, such that thestructural shape and design of the floor structure 22 may vary acrossthe tray floor assembly 18. As shown in FIGS. 5-5B, the tray sections 20a, 20 b, 20 c, 20 d, 20 e may each have an upper panel portion 28 and alower panel portion 30 that are separated from each other byintermediate members 32 that interconnect the upper and lower panelportions 28, 30 and consistently extend longitudinally along the lengthof the respective tray section. Accordingly, hollow areas 34 may bedefined between the upper and lower panel portions 28, 30 that alsoextend longitudinally along the intermediate members 32, so as tolaterally separate the hollow areas 34 from each other and verticallyseparate the upper and lower panel portions 29, 30 from each other.

The vertical spacing provided by the hollow areas 34 creates a distanceto allow upward deformation of the lower panel portion 30 beforeimpacting or substantially deforming the upper panel portion 28, suchthat impact resistance and an upward deformation range is provided atthe bottom surface 19 of the battery tray 10. Further, the intermediatemembers 32 may be arranged at different distances or spacing from eachother to increase the load capacity of the floor portion 22 of the tray10 at the desired areas, such as at or near a central area laterallyacross the width of the tray. It is contemplated that in additionalembodiments the intermediate members may be differently spaced andshaped, such as to extend at an angle between the upper and lower panelportions.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5, the tray sections of the tray floorassembly 18 have a varied cross-sectional profile across a width of thetray 10, such as to have structural mass at the desired cross-sectionallocations of the floor structure 22 to support loads of the vehiclebatteries arranged over and supported at the floor of the battery tray10. The varied thickness provides an inner tray section 20 c with agreater thickness than exterior tray sections 20 a, 20 e. Intermediatetray sections 20 b, 20 d are disposed outboard from the inner traysection 20 c and inward from the outer tray sections 20 a, 20 e, suchthat the intermediate tray sections 20 b, 20 d connect between theexterior and inner tray sections 20 a, 20 c, 20 e. The illustratedintermediate tray sections 20 b, 20 d have a tapering thickness thatdecrease at a generally consistent rate or slope from the inner traysection 20 c to the exterior tray sections 20 a, 20 e. The upper panelportions 28 of the tray sections are generally arranged in horizontalalignment, such that the varied thickness of the intermediate traysections 20 b, 20 d is provided an angle of the lower panel portion 30and varied lengths of the intermediate members 32 integrally extendingbetween the upper and lower panel portions 28, 30.

To attach the tray sections 20 a-20 e together in forming the tray 10,each tray section may include an attachment feature 36 that engages andcouples with a corresponding attachment feature 36 of an adjacent traysection at a longitudinal seam between the tray sections. As shown inFIG. 5B, the attachment feature of one tray section 20 b includes anupper flange 38 having horizontal attachment surface that extendslongitudinally along an inside edge portion of the tray section 20 a.The upper flange 38 may protrude laterally in alignment with the upperpanel portion 28 and may provide the horizontal attachment surfacegenerally between the upper and lower panel portions 28, 30 so as to bespaced at a generally central vertical location. Accordingly, theattachment feature 36 of the tray section 20 c adjacent to the traysection 20 b may include an opposite and corresponding lower flange 40that protrudes laterally in alignment with the lower panel portion 30 tosimilarly centrally position a horizontal attachment surface thatconsistently extends longitudinally along the edge portion. Thehorizontal surfaces of the upper and lower flanges 38, 40 attach inabutting contact at an interface 39, such as to form a lap joint betweenthe tray sections 20 b, 20 c. The flanges and attachment features may beshaped to mate and engage with each other in a close and tight fittingmanner, and thus it is contemplated that attachment flanges inadditional embodiment may have various surface orientations and shapes.

When engaged, the upper and lower surfaces of the adjacent tray sectionsare generally aligned and flush, such as illustrated with each of thetray sections shown in FIG. 5B. The attachment features 36 may provideboth a structural connection for interlocking the tray sections and atight fitting or seal that is configured to prevent moisture intrusioninto the containment area of the battery tray. In addition to or in thealternative to the mechanical interface provided by the engagedattachment features, it is contemplated that the interface between thetray sections may be attached with welding, adhesive, and/or fastenersor the like. As shown in FIG. 6, the tray sections may be attached toeach other via the mating of the attachment features 36, such as byattaching each tray sections separately or by simultaneously attachingthe tray sections. During or after engaging the attachment features 36together, such as with the horizontal surfaces of the flanges inabutting contact, additional welding, adhesive, and/or fasteners or thelike may be disposed at the connection interface to secure thelongitudinal seam. The welding of such a connection may be performed bylaser welding, friction stir welding, MIG welding or the like.

The exterior or outboard tray sections 20 a, 20 e of the floor assembly18 may include a wall portion 24 that extends longitudinally along therespective tray section to provide a section of a peripheral wallstructure 21 of the battery tray 10. The wall structure 24 provided bythe floor assembly may further have wall thicknesses and longitudinalelongated hollow areas 26 that are configured to laterally protect thebattery containment area, such as to prevent lateral impact forces tothe vehicle from substantially penetrating the battery containment area.

The outer edges of the battery tray 10 are generally defined by aperimeter wall 21 that surrounds the floor portion 22 of the tray toform a protective barrier that encloses the batteries 16 in the batterytray 10. The opposing exterior tray sections may each includes a wallportion 24 that is integrally formed with and protrudes upward formfloor portion 22. The two exterior tray sections 20 a, 20 e shown inFIGS. 3 and 4 include wall portions 24 formed at an outer edge area ofthe floor portion 22 and that include an upright interior surfaceextending integrally from the upper surface of the floor portion 22. Assuch, the exterior tray sections 20 a, 20 e may provide a seamlesstransition or impermeable interface between the floor portion 22 and thewall portion 24 so as to prevent moisture from entering the interiorarea of the tray 10. The wall portion 24 may also include one or morehollow areas 26 extending longitudinally along the exterior tray section20 a, 20 c to provide a tubular structure that may function as a sidereinforcement member of the battery tray 10 that is configured to absorband prevent intrusion from lateral impact forces to the vehicle. Thewall portion 24 of the exterior tray sections 20 a, 20 e may includevarious cross-sectional profile shapes, thicknesses, hollow areaconfigurations and the like so as to be configured for the desiredvehicle application.

Referring now to an additional example shown in FIGS. 7-10, the batterytray floor assembly 118 has a floor structure 122 with a generallyconsistent thickness. As shown in FIG. 9B, the attachment feature 136 ofone tray section 120 a includes a channel 138 that extendslongitudinally along an inside edge portion of the tray section 120 a.The channel 138 may be generally defined between the upper and lowerpanel portions 128, 130 so as to be spaced at a generally centralvertical location. Accordingly, the attachment feature 136 of the traysection 120 c adjacent to the exterior tray section 120 a may include aprotrusion 140 that protrudes laterally from a generally centralvertical location on the edge portion of the tray section 120 c, andsimilarly the protrusion 140 may consistently extend longitudinallyalong the edge portion. The shape of the protrusion 140, such as thethickness and lateral extension, is generally configured to mate andengage with the channel 138 in a close or tight fitting manner, and thusit is contemplated that various protrusion and channel shapes arecontemplated.

When engaged, the upper and lower surfaces of the adjacent tray sections120 a, 120 c, 120 e are generally aligned and flush, as shown in FIGS.9-9B. The attachment features 136 may provide both a structuralconnection for interlocking the tray sections and a tight fitting orseal that is configured to prevent moisture intrusion into thecontainment area of the battery tray. In addition to or in thealternative to the mechanical interface provided by the engagedattachment features, it is contemplated that the interface between thetray sections may be attached with welding, adhesive, and/or fastenersor the like. As shown in FIGS. 6-8, one of the exterior tray sections120 a, 120 e may be attached to the interior tray section 120 c via thematting of the attachment features 136, and subsequently orsimultaneously, the remaining exterior tray section may be attached tothe opposing side of the interior tray section 120 c via thecorresponding attachment features 136. During or after interlocking orengaging the attachment features 136 together, such as with theprotrusion 140 disposed in the channel 138, the additional engagementfeatures, such as welding, adhesive, and/or fasteners or the like may bedisposed at the connection. Features of the tray floor assembly 118 thatare similar to the battery tray floor assembly 18 described above maynot be described in detail again, and similar reference numbers may beused, incremented by 100.

Referring now to an additional example shown in FIG. 11, the batterytray floor assembly 218 has a floor structure with a varied thickness,where an inner tray section 220 b has a greater thickness than anexterior tray section 220 a, such that a central area of the floorportion of the battery tray is configured to support the loadsdistributed by the batteries contained in the battery tray. Theillustrated the exterior and inner tray sections 220 a, 220 b each havean upper panel portion 228 and a lower panel portion 230 that areseparated from each other by intermediate members 232 that interconnectthe upper and lower panel portions 228, 230 and consistently extendlongitudinally along the length of the respective tray section. Also,hollow areas 234 are defined between the upper and lower panel portions228, 230 that also extend longitudinally along the intermediate members232, so as to laterally separate the intermediate members 232 from eachother and vertically separate the upper and lower panel portions 228,230 from each other. The vertical separation provided by theintermediate members 232 at inner tray section 220 b is greater than thevertical spacing provided at exterior tray section 220 a.

With further reference to FIG. 11, the tray sections 220 a, 220 b areattached together using an attachment feature 236 that engages andcouples with a corresponding attachment feature 236 of an adjacent traysection at a longitudinal seam between the tray sections. Theillustrated attachment feature of the inner tray section 220 b includesa protrusion 240 that protrudes generally laterally outward from theedge portion of the tray section 220 b and that extends longitudinallyalong the edge portion of the tray section 220 b. The corresponding edgeportion of the exterior tray section 220 a has a lower surface thatrests on an upper surface of the protrusion 240 to provide theengagement between the adjacent tray sections 220 a, 220 b. Theinterface between the upper and lower surfaces at the respectiveprotrusion 240 and engagement feature 236 of the exterior tray section220 a may be used for additional attachment means, such as welding,adhesive, and/or fasteners or the like. Features of the tray floorassembly 218 that are similar to the battery tray floor assembly 18described above may not be described in detail again, and similarreference numbers are used, incremented by 200.

A further example is shown in FIG. 12, where the battery tray floorassembly 318 has a varied cross-sectional thickness. Specifically, aninner tray section 320 c has a greater thickness than exterior traysections 320 a. The illustrated exterior tray section 320 a has atapering thickness that decrease at a generally consistent rate or slopefrom the inner tray section 320 c toward an integrally formed wallportion of the exterior tray sections 320 a. The floor portion of theillustrated tray sections 320 a, 320 c each have an upper panel portion328 and a lower panel portion 330 that are separated from each other byintermediate members 332 that interconnect the upper and lower panelportions 328, 330 and consistently extend longitudinally along thelength of the respective tray section. Also, hollow areas 334 aredefined between the upper and lower panel portions 328, 330, such thatthe intermediate members 332 laterally separate the hollow areas 334from each other and vertically support the upper and lower panelportions 328, 330 from each other.

The exterior tray section 320 a, as shown in FIG. 12, includes a wallportion 324 formed at an outer edge area of the floor portion of theexterior tray section 320 a and that includes an upright interiorsurface extending integrally from the upper surface of the upper panelportion 328 of the exterior tray section 320 a. It is understood that anadditional exterior tray section may be attached at the opposing edge ofthe inner tray section 320 c from the exterior tray section 320 a shownin FIG. 12. The wall portions 324 of such an embodiment also includehollow areas 326 extending longitudinally along the exterior traysection 320 a to provide a tubular structure that may function as a sidereinforcement member of the battery tray that is configured to absorband prevent intrusion from lateral impact forces to the vehicle. Theexterior tray section 320 a of the floor portion 322 shown as a singleintegral pieces of the parts that are of shown separately in FIGS. 3-6as the intermediate tray sections 20 b, 20 d and the exterior traysection 20 a, 20 e of the floor assembly 18. Features of the tray floorassembly 318 that are similar to the battery tray floor assembly 18described above may not be described in detail again, and similarreference numbers are used, incremented by 300.

As also illustrated in FIG. 12, the tray sections attach together usingan attachment feature 336 that engages and couples with a correspondingattachment feature 336 of an adjacent tray section at a longitudinalseam between the tray sections. The illustrated attachment feature ofthe inner tray sections 320 b include a lower protrusion or flange 340that protrudes laterally from a lower edge portion of the tray section320 c and that extends longitudinally along the edge portion of the traysection. The corresponding edge portion of the exterior tray section 320a has an upper protrusion or flange 338 that extends from an upper edgeportion of the tray section 320 a and that rests on an upper surface ofthe flange 340 to provide the engagement between the adjacent traysections. The interface between the respective flanges 338, 340 mayinclude additional attachment means, such as welding, adhesive, and/orfasteners or the like.

When forming the tray sections of the battery tray floor assembly, theadjacent tray sections may be formed together, such as by a singleextrusion die, so as to increase tray section production speed and theease of assembly, among other benefits. For example, extrusion dies maybe limited in size or diameter, such as to approximately 12 to 16inches, whereby it may be desirable to package multiple tray sectionsinto a single extrusion die. When in an initially formed state, at leasttwo of the tray sections may thereby be integrally interconnected witheach other, such that one or more interconnecting pieces or portions maybe deformed to align and attach the tray sections and/or may be removedso as to allow the tray sections to subsequently attach together.

As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, an outer tray section 420 b is extrudedsimultaneously with an inner tray section 420 c with an interconnectingpiece 421 connecting between the edge portions at the upper panelportions 428 of each tray section 420 b, 420 c and extendinglongitudinally along the tray sections. With the interconnecting piece421 intact, as shown in FIG. 13A, the tray sections may be considered tobe in an initially formed state 423. From the initially formed state423, the interconnecting piece 421 may be cut from or otherwise removedfrom the edge portions of both try sections, such that the tray sectionsmay then be attached, similar to the tray sections 20 b, 20 d shown inFIGS. 3-6 and described herein. When attached, the tray sections may beconsidered to be in a use state 425 forming a substantially planarstructure that is configured to support vehicle batteries. Features ofthe tray floor assembly 418 that are similar to the battery tray floorassembly 18 described above may not be described in detail again, andsimilar reference numbers are used, incremented by 400.

Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, an outer tray section 520 b isextruded simultaneously with an inner tray section 520 c with aninterconnecting piece 521 connecting between the edge portions at theupper panel portions 528 of each tray section 520 b, 520 d and extendinglongitudinally along the tray sections. With the interconnecting piece521 intact and shown in a U-shaped configuration, as shown in FIG. 14A,the tray sections may be considered to be in an initially formed state523. From the initially formed state 523, the interconnecting piece 521may be deformed from the U-shape to a generally flat configuration inalignment with the upper surfaces of the upper panel portions 528 of thetray sections, such that the tray sections are in substantially planaralignment with each other. As the deformation is occurring, attachmentfeatures along the edge portions of the tray sections 520 b, 520 c mayengage with each other, such as a protrusion 540 engaging acorresponding channel 538. Once the interconnecting piece 521 isdeformed to a planar configuration as shown in FIG. 14B, a lower brace527 that protrudes form a lower panel portion of one of the traysections may contact the adjacent lower panel of the other panelportion. The lower brace 527 may also be used as a weld point 541, suchas with a laser welder or the like. When deformed and attached together,the tray sections may be considered to be in a use state 525 forming asubstantially planar structure that is configured to support vehiclebatteries, such as shown and described herein. Features of the trayfloor assembly 518 that are similar to the battery tray floor assembly18 described above may not be described in detail again, and similarreference numbers are used, incremented by 500.

Furthermore, additional tray sections may be integrally formed together,such as all the tray sections of a single tray assembly 618, as shown inFIGS. 15A and 15B. In the initially formed state 623, the exterior traysections 620 a, 620 e are integrally formed with wall portions 624 thateach includes a hollow area extending longitudinally along the exteriortray section to provide a side reinforcement member of the battery tray.Also, multiple inner tray sections 620 c are integrally formed with across-sectional profile that has a serpentine or wave-like shape that isgenerally consistent longitudinally along the length of the traysections. The tray sections, such as the illustrated inner tray sections620 c, are deformed from the initially formed state 623 to a use stateby laterally displacing the exterior tray sections, such as in a stretchforming apparatus and/or press to form a substantially planar floorstructure 622 as shown in FIG. 15B. To further support and reinforce thefloor portion 622 of the tray floor assembly 619, one or more crossmembers 627 may be disposed laterally between the wall portions 624 ofthe side reinforcement members. It is also shown that the floorstructure 622 of the tray floor assembly 618 may include longitudinalstiffeners that include upward and downward facing channels integrallyformed into the cross-sectional profile so as to extendinglongitudinally along the floor portion of the tray. Features of the trayfloor assembly 618 that are similar to the battery tray floor assembly18 described above may not be described in detail again, and similarreference numbers are used, incremented by 600.

Once the tray floor assembly is formed, it may be trimmed to accommodatethe perimeter shape of the battery tray, such as shown in FIG. 16. Asimilar tray perimeter is shown in FIG. 2 in an example of the completedtray 10. In FIG. 16, the tray floor assembly is shown at the left with athickness of 2 millimeters at the exterior tray sections and a thicknessof 5 millimeters at a central tray section 820 b. Thus, when pieces 850,851 are trimmed from the tray floor assembly 818, they are taken fromthe exterior tray sections 820 a, 820 c, such that the mass of materialremoved is less than if the tray floor were monolithic, having a singlethickness greater than 2 millimeters over the entire panel, such asshown to the right in FIG. 16 as a thickness of 4 millimeters. It isalso contemplated that the exterior tray sections may have a shorterlongitudinal length than the corresponding central tray section, so thatthe pieces that need to be trimmed are reduced in size.

Optionally, the battery tray floor assembly may be formed to arrange thetray sections in a manner that they extend laterally relative tovehicle, such that the tray section have a substantially constantcross-sectional profile laterally across the battery tray, such as thefloor assembly 718 shown in FIGS. 17-20. In this embodiment, the traysections may be engineered to have desired load capacity and performancefor locating the batteries at the desired longitudinal position on thebattery tray. Accordingly, the tray floor assembly 718 provides at leasttwo separate tray sections 720 e, 720 f that are formed to each have across-sectional profile that is substantially consistent laterallyacross the width of the battery tray. This generally consistent profileeach tray section may be formed by extrusion, such as with an aluminumalloy, or pultrusion, such as with a resin and composite substrate.Similar to the embodiments described above, the adjacent tray sectionsmay be attached together, such as with engagement features that includeone or more of mechanically engaged geometric features, such asprotrusions and channels, welding, adhesive, fasteners and the like. Thetray sections shown in FIGS. 17-20 also include intermediate wallportions 724 that protrude upward from the edges of the respect floorportions 722. Further, the upper surface of the illustrated floorportions 722 may include upward facing channels. Features of the trayfloor assembly 718 that are similar to the battery tray floor assembly18 described above may not be described in detail again, and similarreference numbers are used, incremented by 700.

Several different attachment techniques and configurations may be usedto permanently or releasable secure the battery tray to a vehicle frame,such as below a floor of the vehicle and generally between the axles.Further, with respect to the general installation or attachment orformation, the steps discussed herein may be performed in variousdifferent sequences from those discussed to result in engaging,disengaging, or forming the battery tray or components thereof.

It is to be understood that the specific devices and processesillustrated in the attached drawings, and described in thisspecification are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive conceptsdefined in the appended claims. Hence, specific values and other precisephysical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed hereinare not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly stateotherwise.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments maybe carried out without departing from the principles of the presentdisclosure, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw. The disclosure has been described in an illustrative manner, and itis to be understood that the terminology which has been used is intendedto be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.Many modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possiblein light of the above teachings, and the disclosure may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle battery tray comprising: a floorassembly having a plurality of elongated tray sections that attachtogether at lateral edge portions of adjacent tray sections of theplurality of elongated tray sections to form a floor structure that isconfigured to support vehicle batteries contained in the vehicle batterytray; wherein the plurality of elongated tray sections each comprise asubstantially consistent cross-sectional shape extending longitudinallyalong a length of the elongated tray section; wherein a thickness of oneof the plurality of elongated tray sections at a central area of thefloor structure is greater than a thickness of another one of theplurality of elongated tray sections at an outboard area of the floorstructure; and wherein the central area of the floor structure isconfigured to withstand an equal or greater transverse bending momentthan the outboard area of the floor structure.
 2. The vehicle batterytray of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of elongated traysections comprises an aluminum alloy.
 3. The vehicle battery tray ofclaim 1, wherein each of the plurality of elongated tray sectionscomprises an upper panel portion that at least partially forms an uppersurface of the floor structure formed by the plurality of tray sections.4. The vehicle battery tray of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality ofelongated tray sections comprises a lower panel portion that isseparated from the upper panel portion to provide a hollow areaextending longitudinally along the length of the respective traysection.
 5. The vehicle battery tray of claim 4, wherein each of theplurality of elongated tray sections comprises intermediate members thatintegrally interconnect between the upper and lower panel portions todivide the hollow area into multiple elongated hollow channels disposedbetween the upper and lower panel portions.
 6. The vehicle battery trayof claim 1, wherein an outer tray section of the plurality of elongatedtray sections comprises a panel portion that partially forms the floorstructure, and wherein the outer tray section comprises a wall portionintegrally protruding upward from the panel portion of the outer traysection to at least partially form a peripheral wall structure of thevehicle battery tray.
 7. The vehicle battery tray of claim 6, whereinthe wall portion of the outer tray section comprises an hollow areaextending longitudinally along the length of the outer tray section. 8.The vehicle battery tray of claim 1, wherein at least one of the lateraledge portions of the plurality of elongated tray sections includes asubstantially horizontal surface that attaches at a correspondingsubstantially horizontal surface of the adjacent tray section.
 9. Thevehicle battery tray of claim 1, wherein, when in an initially formedstate, at least two adjacent tray sections of the plurality of traysections are integrally interconnected, and wherein the at least twoadjacent tray sections are displaced from the initially formed state toan assembly state that horizontally aligns the at least two adjacenttray sections to at least partially form the floor structure.
 10. Thevehicle battery tray of claim 1, wherein the plurality of elongated traysections comprises an inner tray section disposed at the central area ofthe floor structure and outer tray sections disposed at the outboardareas of the floor structure.
 11. The vehicle battery tray of claim 10,wherein the outer tray sections each comprise a wall portion, andwherein the vehicle battery tray comprises front and rear tray enclosuremembers that extend laterally across the plurality of elongated traysection and attach at the wall portions of the outer tray sections totogether form a peripheral wall structure that surrounds a batterycontainment area of the vehicle battery tray.
 12. A tray floor assemblyfor a vehicle battery tray, said tray floor assembly comprising: aplurality of elongated tray sections that attach together to form asubstantially planar floor structure that is configured to supportvehicle batteries; wherein the plurality of elongated tray sections eachextend longitudinally and parallel relative to each other and eachcomprise a transverse cross-sectional profile that is substantiallyconsistent longitudinally along its length; wherein the cross-sectionalprofile of at least one of the plurality of elongated tray sectionsincludes a thickness between an upper surface and a lower surface of thefloor structure that increases laterally across a width of thecross-sectional profile; wherein, when in an initially formed state,adjacent tray sections of the plurality of elongated tray sections areintegrally interconnected; and wherein the adjacent tray sections aredisplaced from the initially formed state to an assembly state thatpositions the adjacent tray sections with the upper surfaces insubstantially planar alignment with each other.
 13. The tray floorassembly of claim 12, wherein the thickness at a central area of thefloor structure is greater than the thickness at opposing outboard areasof the floor structure.
 14. The tray floor assembly of claim 12, whereinat least one of the plurality of elongated tray sections comprises analuminum extrusion.
 15. The tray floor assembly of claim 12, wherein atleast one of the plurality of elongated tray sections comprises (i) anupper panel portion that at least partially forms the upper surface ofthe floor structure, (ii) a lower panel portion that is separated fromthe upper panel portion to provide a hollow area extendinglongitudinally along the length of the respective tray section, and(iii) intermediate stiffening members that integrally interconnectbetween the upper and lower panel portions to laterally divide thehollow area.
 16. The tray floor assembly of claim 12, wherein theplurality of elongated tray sections comprises outer tray sections onopposing lateral sides of the floor structure that each have a wallportion that partially forms a peripheral wall structure of the vehiclebattery tray.
 17. A tray floor assembly for a vehicle battery tray, saidtray floor assembly comprising: a plurality of elongated tray sectionsthat attach together to form a substantially planar floor structure thatis configured to support vehicle batteries; wherein the plurality ofelongated tray sections each extend longitudinally and parallel relativeto each other and each comprise a transverse cross-sectional profilethat is substantially consistent longitudinally along its length;wherein the cross-sectional profile of at least one of the plurality ofelongated tray sections includes a thickness between an upper surfaceand a lower surface of the floor structure that increases laterallyacross a width of the cross-sectional profile; and wherein the pluralityof elongated tray sections each include an attachment feature thatattaches at a corresponding attachment feature of an adjacent traysection of the plurality of elongated tray sections.
 18. The tray floorassembly of claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of elongated traysections comprises a hollow area disposed in the thickness between theupper and lower surfaces and extending longitudinally along the lengthof the respective elongated tray section.
 19. The tray floor assembly ofclaim 17, wherein the plurality of elongated tray sections comprisesouter tray sections on opposing lateral sides of the substantiallyplanar floor structure and an inner tray section disposed between theouter tray sections, wherein the thickness of the inner tray section isgreater than a thickness of the outer tray sections.
 20. The tray floorassembly of claim 17, wherein a central area of the floor structure isconfigured to withstand an equal or greater transverse bending momentthan an outboard area of the floor structure.